


Ties That Bind

by veroreos



Series: Broken Bonds [2]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Flashbacks, Friendship, M/M, Rivalry, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 11:18:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6282514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veroreos/pseuds/veroreos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zed wants to forget, but it's not that simple.<br/>Some things you can't let go.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ties That Bind

**Author's Note:**

> With Jhin's expanded lore talking more about Zed and Shen, I decided to wrap up the other fic as a three-chapter part to this series, a prelude to this one.
> 
> Changing the way I look at Zed and Shen and the whole Kinkou Gang. Maybe some Jhin later? Who knows.  
> There's gonna be actual romance this time around, though most of it in flashback form I think. Maybe.

Shen used to laugh.

He was a quiet, serious child, unsure of how to take on his role as the master’s son, but by the time he had become a young man he had started to learn to balance his friendship with the other students and his duties.

Zed distinctly remembers one day of training where they had been sparring by the river and Zed had managed to throw Shen in; instead of getting upset or even trying to make a graceful comeback, he’d simply sat up in the water and started laughing, throwing his head back and letting his clothes get soaked while delighting in what had happened.

It confused Zed, but only for a moment before Zed found himself laughing too, wading out into the water and splashing Shen’s face as Shen splashed back and tried to shove the other boy off of him. His aggression from the battle was entirely forgotten as Shen grabbed him by the collar and rolled him to the side, ending with both of them head first into the water. When they both came up they were roaring with laughter, Shen running his hand through his hair and Zed meeting the boy’s eyes with a soft sigh.

 _My friend_.

Zed woke up feeling much too warm and reminiscent, the memories of that time much too real in his dream. He cursed himself for such thoughts resurfacing, threw the nearby nightstand across the room, went for the bathroom mirror and slashed clean lines into it while imagining it was Shen’s face staring back at him.

This wouldn’t do.

The second night he dreamed of the time they had forested for tea leaves together, the two of them arguing about whether or not they were gathering the right ones before Zed dared Shen to brew it to test it out. Zed was absolutely sure Shen was wrong, and Shen was starting to look like he wasn’t sure, but Shen just laughed and told him that he’d do it if Zed did it was well.

Turned out they were both wrong and they both suffered a terrible rash for the following week. Zed remembered every time he started to mope about it Shen would give him a bright smile and slug him on the shoulder and then everything wouldn’t feel so bad. This time when Zed woke up, he could still feel Shen’s hand touching his arm, could still hear Shen’s young voice telling him that they’d be alright.

Zed impulsively kicked one of his students out of a window later that day.

The third dream was the worst one yet, a clear memory of a festival he and Shen had gone to together, had spent the whole night together, had been by each other’s sides laughing and sharing food and participating in games and smiling, and when it was long past midnight and the lanterns were dim and there were only stars to illuminate their faces, and Zed had leaned over and dragged Shen into a long kiss where nobody could see them and he could feel Shen sigh into his mouth--

Zed woke that morning in a sweat.

This wouldn’t do at _all._


End file.
